The Work of Human Hands

Known as the top pediatric center in the U.S., Children's Hospital in Boston--and its world-famous chief surgeon Hardy Hendren--is the focus of this well-researched study by Miller ( Thunder Rise ), a staff writer for the Providence Journal-Bulletin, where his award-winning series on the hospital appeared. The book discusses advances in pediatrics, especially those made in Boston; new procedures devised by Hendren and notable predecessors and colleagues; and the patients whose lives they saved. All of this is engrossing. However, the narrative jumps back and forth in time distractingly, and recreates often superfluous dialogue and inner thoughts of the protagonists. Of great interest are the firsthand accounts of complex corrective or reconstructive surgery, often performed on the same patient and involving one or more systems (cardiovascular, lower intestinal, genital, etc.). Photos not seen by PW . Author tour. (Feb.)